Rivals now find themselves teammates

By Andrew Cutler, Journal staff | Monday, September 08, 2008

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BROOKINGS — What happens when you pair a couple of Rapid City Central cross country runners with a Stevens grad?

Apparently good things if you’re the South Dakota State men’s cross country team.

The friendly high school rivals — Central grads Greg Vollmer and Michael Krsnak, along with Stevens grad Marshall Kambestad — are all now college teammates for the Jackrabbits, making SDSU among the favorites for a Summit League championship.

“It’s kind of a unique thing. We got to run against (Kambestad) and now we get to be teammates with him, it’s kind of an honor,” Vollmer, a sohomore said. “Now that we are Jackrabbits, we have a different goal in mind now.”

Vollmer and Kambestad, also a sophomore, return to SDSU hoping to improve on their 2007 seasons and will be expected to be leaders for a squad that has only one senior and one junior.

“The main thing is going to be the team and helping these young kids,” Kambestad said. “We are not going to win a team title without them. Helping the young kids is what I want to get out of this year most of all.”

Kambestad, who earned a spot on the all-Summit League first team a year ago despite missing time last season with ankle problems and shin splints, finished a season-best fifth with a time of 25 minutes, 33 seconds at The Summit League Championships last season.

Vollmer finished fifth in the steeplechase in the Summit League Track and Field Championships last spring and hopes to improve on his 37th place at the league championships a year ago.

“Marshall has stated he’s really excited about the season,” Vollmer said. “We have a really talented freshman class coming in. If we come together as a team, we could be in for some very exciting things.”

One of those talented freshmen is Krsnak, who, Kambestad said, has a chance to be as good as he wants.

“He’s a kid that’s very excited about running. He has a passion for it. That spreads throughout the team,” Kambestad said. “Even if he doesn’t help on the course, just having him on the team will be a big plus for us as a team.”

Krsnak said having Vollmer and Kambestad in Brookings has been a big plus as he adjusts to college life.

“If I would have gone to some school, 15 to 16 hours away, didn’t know anyone there, it would be a lot different,” Krsnak said.

Krsnak’s arrival on campus has already paid dividends for the Jackrabbits. The freshman helped SDSU to the team title on Friday at the season-opening Bison Invitational in Fargo, N.D.

Krsnak led the Jackrabbit men with a runner-up finish, clocking a time of 25:59 over the 8,000-meter course, while Kambestad was third in 26:09.43.

“I think he will be at the top of every race he runs,” Kambestad said of Krsnak. “He has a lot of tools. When you look at what he did in high school, I think that is just a preview of what he’s going to do in college.”

Krsnak said he was pleased at how well he did in his first collegiate race.

“Basically I think I’m in pretty good shape right now,” Krsnak said. “Coming into the season, I think maybe I’m a little more prepared than other kids.”

As the three settle in for another season in Brookings, all are glad to have each other as teammates.

“It’s kind of funny, I ran with (Krsnak) for four years at Central and we pushed each other as teammates at Central,” Vollmer said. “And we had Marshall on the other side running for Stevens. It’s kind of awesome that we all ended up getting to run together at college.”